Disjointed maybe, obtuse certainly, but listening to this album is continuously rewarding, new images, new storylines, and new moments of disbelief at Darnielle's lyricism on every listen.

It would be a shame if S.C.U.M cannot escape from the oppressive prison that preconceptions have built, because Again Into Eyes is worthy than a better fate than that. Honestly. It's well worth a try.

All in all, Seer is an amazing addition to the impeccable Thrill Jockey canon, even if Alexander Tucker still sits atop his glittering throne at the apex of Thrill Jockey’s recorded output, unchallenged by great but not life-changing records like this.

Vår manage to save a plodding midsection with tracks like the creepy, droney and dark Boy, proving they’re jacks of multiple trades.

For the most part, it is an assured collection of songs that exudes the confidence of an artist at the peak of her powers.

More than anything else, there's a sense of contentment and pleasure that purveys the Things Of The Past that could have been lifted from the Summer of Love itself.

Victory Shorts is the perfect addition to their oeuvre, building on 2006's Schmotime with the same irreverence and deep-seated emotion that turns a good record into a great one.

When you hear the body of work in these sessions, and witness at first hand the musical creativity and bond between them, it only leaves you wanting to hear more.

The demos here may be cheaply recorded and lacking in sound quality but there is nothing lacking in the quality of the songs, which are seen in a new and very welcome light.

Invisible Enemy // Crescent Moon is a brave attempt from its creator to change direction, but ultimately KT Tunstall’s limitations are laid bare on a record that meanders pleasantly without ever leaving a lasting impression.

If one yearns for bigger and better things from Goldheart Assembly, it’s only because Long Distance Song Effects suggests they really do have the potential for greatness.

The use of the light, nimble calabash instead of drums helps craft a subtle, hypnotic sound that eschews the rock dynamics recently incorporated by the likes of Tinariwen or Tamikrest. This approach creates music that is somehow simultaneously vibrant and contemplative.

Certainly, some people will find Aventine a bit hard to take – at first listen, it sounds so pleasant it just washes over, and it’s only on repeated plays that its dark mysteries reveal itself.

There are a couple of songs that feel a bit like half-sketched filler, means that Williamson’s fourth album may not come across many people’s radar. Yet for those who do chance upon it, there’s much to enjoy.

Confetti is a dependable album with recipe staples, but to keep future interest piqued, something new is now required in the mix.

What is clear is that the band’s songwriting will never be short of heft, with the potential to rouse a festival crowd. The Alchemist’s Euphoria will definitely do that, especially the primal, chest-bared early examples – and so for now the band look set to begin chapter two of their story with a show of strength.

Compared to the low-key and at times melancholic Nocturne, Life Of Pause is a rich and expansive step up that balances the old and the new perfectly to create Wild Nothing’s best album yet.

A good first try for an album, but it's just not quite there yet.

It's an LP wrought for enjoyment, and whichever peers it name-checks, whichever influences it acknowledges, it meets its remit with flair.

There’s the requisite lack of variety that ambient records beget, but no lack of depth in the sonic department.

The band’s second coming arrives with some added grit, mostly to the guitar and bass sounds, with more distortion in evidence than previously, even if it stops well short of out and out rock. Present once again are their appealing syncopated rhythms and riffs, above which the slight husk of Jack Steadman’s lead vocal offers shots of warmth and positivity.

The record dazzles with its detail, beguiles with its lyrical performances and leaves a lasting impression with powerful songwriting.

These songs, penned by such as Ennio Morricone, Mina and Fred Bongusto, have been treated with the utmost respect. Patton has ensured that they are as authentic as possible by employing a 15-strong band together with a 40-piece orchestra.

A beautiful, dramatic, idiosyncratic album from a beautiful, dramatic, idiosyncratic band.

Minor missteps aside, Further Complications is a bold, progressive step forward in the so far, so very good solo career of Jarvis Cocker.

Yet for all the individual moments of sleek electronic beauty, Goddess as a whole often sounds frustratingly unconvincing and almost fragmented in its production.

Valtari is a complex album and time is required for these songs to become truly effective. Once their beauty becomes apparent however, it becomes clear that Valtari is up there with Sigur Rós' best work.

There’s a fresh energy and swagger about the Jarmans now, helped in no small way by producer Ric Ocasek.

Admittedly, this is pretty much Bruce does karaoke, but when it’s done this well and with so much obvious love for the source material, it’s irresistible. Volume 2 can’t come quickly enough.

This is one of the most exciting debut albums for sometime.

It’s encouraging to find Kid Koala beginning to push the envelope and explore new territory, and these transmissions from the satellite heart are a fine starting point for future adventures.

Ultimately, this album will draw the attention of McCartney fans and of the artists involved, and will remain a curio for the rest. Yet it’s good to see rock’s ultimate ‘Elder Statesman’ reaching out to a younger generation and trusting them with his material. Not all of McCartney III Imagined works, but when it does it sounds genuinely exciting.

It’s a poised, carefully executed balance that captures Ikonika in an intriguing period of transition.

Stephen Malkmus’s career post Pavement has largely been hit or miss, but on Wig Out At Jagbags the hit quota is as high as it has ever been. This is the album that any Malkmus aficionado would hope for.

Much of the experimentation is on the surface, and there does not seem to be a great deal of further depth or sophistication. Often, it is all too bright and too relentlessly ecstatic to feel truly meaningful or substantial.

The album does seem to tail off a bit towards the end – as nice as Light It Up and Tough are, they both seem disappointingly sedate ways to bring the album to a close compared to the succession of instantly engaging anthems that preceded them. Other than that, though, there’s enough evidence on Real Love that the fire that inspired Gossip is still burning as bright as ever.

It’s that smoothing of Ditto’s edges that prevents Fake Sugar from moving from a good, perfectly serviceable pop album to something truly great.

Cookies is a fairly typical debut album, in that it sees a band define their style and stick to it. No doubt in time they'll develop their sound, but in the meantime if you're after a good soundtrack to a party grab this album, kick off your shoes and get your rocks off.

All You Need Is Now is unlikely to win over any new fans, but it might reignite or validate forgotten guilty pleasures and, for Duranies, it's an album to sit alongside its older relatives with pride.

It turns out to be much more than just the sum of its influences. It's evocative when it could just be shamelessly retro.

Nobody Knows should be the start of a brilliant career, not the conclusion of a merely promising one.

Ultimately, Vestiges & Claws is a solid return from González.... Though, as without a distinctive cover, his comforting, low-key style can at times become repetitive and forgettable.

Selling is an inspired project, and On Reflection utilises the best of both artists to produce a project that is fascinating, pretty and groovy all at once: required listening for fans of electronic music.

The only issue is that, over the course of a 45 minute album, Masics’ style can drag a bit. When his songs lose Barlow’s influence, they can tend to lose a bit of energy, and as What Do We Do Now reaches its conclusion, you may be a bit weary of mid-paced plodders like Old Friends and Hangin’ Out. They’re not bad songs as such, there’s just not too much to distinguish them as more than filler.

Luminous, all told, is a sure-fire summer soundtrack from a band who are far more cerebral than they’d have you believe.

Whilst Living Proof is very much the blues, Buddy Guy's solos give this a rawness that swells with discord, and the result feels more akin to the avant-garde guitar days of Sonic Youth and Shellac.

The moments that do shine are thoroughly warm; warm in a natural, pretention-dropping way, which seems to be where they're aiming. If The Donkeys can recreate that feeling a few more times they might be wonderful. For now they're merely salvageable.

Young Guns may have pushed themselves to the edge to create Bones, but the end result confirms the hard work was more than worth it.

Silver Eye is undoubtedly a masterfully crafted, emotionally rich and enjoyable record.

First Love is a promising, and at times deeply impressive, debut album.

Finishing with the title track, The Small Hours finally becomes as strange and otherworldly as perhaps the entire album should have been. The whole work is not a disaster by any means, but it’s when Berry’s focus seems to wane and things seem more spontaneous that his music becomes more alive.

They’re constantly trying to better themselves, and provide their listeners with new ways of looking at old feelings. As Long As You Are is an endlessly rewarding listen, and it’s certainly worth the wait.

The general tone is low-stakes, suggesting that Bada$$ felt obliged to link the record to 1999 regardless of the content, and it lacks the impact he might want from his first release in five years. That being said, good taste in production makes it very listenable and his sound has evolved in an interesting way, meaning that ironically he’s not stuck in the past.

Peaches' overt and upfront sexuality was once refreshing, but it now feels a little relentless. Quite possibly, the novelty has worn off.

Grace/Wastelands is Doherty scrubbed up, older and wiser and showing signs of regret for the past. It is a great album but then, so have they all been.

Gracious Tide, Take Me Home is a frequently stunning and achingly earnest debut effort whose sugary gossamer moments find themselves perfectly underlined with a bitterly sad aesthetic, but it would definitely benefit from the rougher edges that the band bring to their live show.

Creep On Creepin' On is a richly textured, intriguing piece of work that bears up well to repeated listens.

Marks To Prove It remains oddly unsatisfying.

There's just enough pop influence to catch the audience's ear along the way - the refrains on Chocolate Makes You Happy, Dear God, I Hate Myself, and This Too Shall Pass Away (For Freddy) are as infectious as any mainstream pop song.

Think Belle and Sebastian or a touch of Aberfeldy and take that east over the North Sea to Sweden, adding exquisite touches of orchestration and a touch more wistfulness as you go, and you have a rough template for the sound of Loney Dear.

For the most part however, this is a focused and enjoyable stomp.

Let's Wrestle have certainly crafted the sophomore album we all expected from them. There's little, beyond even that Albini attachment, that strives beyond the aspirations of a general set of rickety punk tunes--but at the same time, everything here is working wonderfully as intended.

It's all very Jeffrey-Lewis-esque in fact--another entertaining album from a man determined to cling to his cult status as long as possible.

The occasional introductions and interludes niftily splice together some sampled voices that add to the sense of abstract threat and unease, even if their impact feels a little hubristic at times. Yet beneath the tempestuous tensions in this music there are also occasional hints of reflection and consideration.

Dienel and co have surpassed any of their previous efforts, including the incredible debut Phylactery Factory, and the most recent beauty Kairos.

The skill involved in composing and producing A Paradise is not in question, but a little less cerebral meandering and bit more fun really would go a long way here.

There’s a new sense of optimism shining through the songs, especially on tracks like Hey I Won’t Break Your Heart and Tell Me, but it’s always tempered by a wistfulness that only experience can bring.

Some may be turned off by the sheer melancholy on European Heartbreak, and yearn for the drive and verve of songs like It Changes. Yet, for anyone who enjoys soaking in sorrow, this makes for perfect listening. For anyone from other states of the European Union dreading the uncertainties of life post-March 2019, this album could at least be a security blanket.

This sort of music is not intended for close listening, relying as it does on repetition and vibe. It does, however, deliver the sound that Com Truise is known for in abundance, and delivers it with a nuance that’s a cut above the other YouTube wannabes.

It's another debut album laid low by ravages of hype.

Despite the dark emotions on display, Not To Disappear is the sort of album that can sound oddly comforting, one to which you can gaze out on a bleak and snowy landscape, while musing over January’s travails, and take some sort of solace in. That’s the sort of thing Daughter do so well.

Konkylie is a vibrant, often intense, mix of house and pop, infused, wonderfully, with both a spiritual glow and a dark clubland soul.

Closing in on his sixth decade as a recording artist, it is heartening to see one of our national treasures still pushing the boundaries. Long may he continue.

A rich and rewarding album from an artist who - thankfully - keeps on evolving in subtle and exciting ways.

Such an impressive cast might initially give rise to the belief that this might be an album that delights in twisting the conventional, but in truth everyone plays it fairly safe which is likely to disappoint those hoping for something mind blowing.

Whilst the record is without doubt clamorous, murky and often times boisterous, it’s in no way petulant or immovable.

There’s much to admire about Savage, but it’s definitely one that you have to be in a particular mood to enjoy.

So the odd mis-step aside, the death of Arctic Monkeys appears to have been greatly exaggerated. Rather, this is another intriguing evolution for one of the country's great bands, and a shot in the arm for Britain's rather moribund 'indie guitar' scene.

All in, this is a strong if straightforward album packed with effective if safe earworms, albeit from someone whose very name suggests twists and turns.

There are many joys to be found within its brittle, opaque sounds but it’s undoubtedly an album that must be lived with for an appropriate length of time for these to fully surface. Yet, this isn’t a bad thing.

Little Death is indie for the fanzine generation, 12 blazing little fires of warmth that'll connect stylishly with the masses too.

As excitingly promising a solo debut as any.

This album shows him to still be in thrall to the possibilities of composition and unafraid of tackling the bigger issues it can so powerfully address.

It has an unnerving, visceral impact--it is fragmentary, destabilising and confounding but all in the best possible way.

You don’t often have to wait as long for debut albums, but by taking their time and perfecting their first full length release, THOAP have created something truly memorable.

It is consistently fresh, inventive and beguiling, showing a band surely at the summit of their powers.

The album is no attempted revisiting of past glories but shows The View exploring a more varied sound with a mellower vibe.

From the outset, A Situation is a black hole of an album: cold, dark, even nihilistic. It’s easy to get drawn into the music but it doesn’t offer any obvious exits or conclusions.

It’s a fun, if inessential, listen and more proof, if it were needed of course, that Lambert is an excellent interpreter of other people’s songs.

In Boarding House Reach White gives himself a free hand, and the result is a more experimental and surprising work.

Breezy pop structures are undercut by experimental sound design, a playful spirit buoying up the record throughout.

It’s A Holiday Soul Party is, for the most part, smooth and subtle enough to be enjoyed at any time of the year.

This is very much a fans only album, much like Missy's other efforts.

Spirit is, ironically enough, sometimes lacking in that, with a few too many downbeat, mid-tempo brooding numbers for comfort. For a soundtrack to a revolution, we’re going to need to party more.

The only caveat with the music of iamamiwhoami is that there is now a lot of R&B influenced electronic pop music around, increasingly from Scandinavia, and it seems to be the 'go to' sound of left of centre pop music in the middle of 2012. The good news for the duo, however, is that their particular take on it puts them right near the front of a crowded field.

While occasionally you miss the humanising influence of an analogue drum, or Void’s bowed guitar or even a voice which sounds more flesh and blood than silicon, the sheer force of will that drives 25 25 batters you into submission.

They do make thoroughly exciting music that becomes quickly airborne, able to move the listener to a different plane with disarming ease.

Part of the difficulty with this is, simply, that--taken as a body of work (album) rather than a collection of individual tracks--interest can start to wane. This isn’t helped, either, by the chiefly indistinguishable lyrics: that character-and light/shade-drenched vocal might be enormously listenable, but for most of the time we aren’t able to make out what it is articulating.